The following post written by Davidson Loehr, author of America, Fascism and God: Sermons from a Heretical Preacher, appeared originally online at DailyKos[1].

Bin Laden “was used in the same way that 9/11 was used to mobilize the emotions and feelings of the American people in order to go to a war that had to be justified through a narrative that Bush junior created and Cheney created about the world of terrorism.” — Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik

With the (at least second) death of Usama bin Laden now creating a tsunami of feelings and feverish nationalism, millions of people are finding a sense of emotional closure: some stitches to help seal the wound, the fear and confusion of 9-11-2001.

But something is very wrong with the administration’s slip-sliding story of midnight heroics executing The Bad Guy Behind 9-11, then disposing of his body so no one could verify the alleged DNA match. The administration is simply saying “Just trust us” – as though many people do.

Surface irregularities
The photo of President Obama and a roomful of his advisers apparently watching the operation go down (recorded by helmet-cams worn by the SEALS) turns out to be a picture of them watching … something else. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta acknowledged that the helmet-cams were not on during the operation, and were off for 25 minutes after the SEALS entered the compound.

And that million-dollar mansion in which bin Laden lived? Well, no. Property records showed that the land was worth $48,000 when it was purchased in stages in 2004 and 2005, according to the Associated Press. (1)

Initially, the story was presented as a vicious firefight against an armed compound, where bin Laden used his wife as a human shield, firing at the invaders from behind her. Now it seems that bin Laden was not armed, was not using anyone as a shield, and was in his pajamas when killed. (2)

“Yesterday [May 2, 2011], it was widely reported that bin Laden “resisted” his capture and “engaged in a firefight” with U.S. forces…. It was also repeatedly claimed that bin Laden used a woman — his wife — as a human shield to protect himself, and that she was killed as a result. That image — of a cowardly though violent-to-the-end bin Laden — framed virtually every media narrative of the event all over the globe. And it came from many government officials, principally Obama’s top counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan.”

The major media dutifully reported this made-for-the-movies story. But by the next day it was obvious that almost all of the key dramatic elements in the story were completely false: fictions for the masses, facts be damned. Greenwald:

“No matter how many times this happens — from Jessica Lynch’s heroic firefight against Iraqi captors to Pat Tillman’s death at the hands of Evil Al Qaeda fighters — it never changes: the narrative is set forever by first-day government falsehoods uncritically amplified by establishment media outlets, which endure no matter how definitively they are disproven in subsequent days.” (3)

This is the psychology of the “Big Lie”: we tend to swallow wildly exaggerated stories more than little lies, because we wouldn’t be either willing or able to lie so completely about such life-and-death matters, so assume others also wouldn’t. The plot – starting with an absurd mythic story, knowing people will finally trust it over the slings and arrows of fact that reveal it as manipulative duplicity – has been proven to work time after time; it’s no wonder governments continue to use it. It’s playing to car-crash journalism, and our love of a simple and pure story of victory or vengeance by the Good Guys over The Forces of Evil. We love good theater, but will settle for much less. All the spotlights are persuasive.

Who benefits from this Kabuki Theater story? Well, when Obama met for a chat with firefighters from Engine 54 in lower Manhattan, he assured them – and, through the media, the rest of us: “You’re always going to have a president and an administration who’s got your back.” (4)

Deeper misdirection
If this shifting story were no more than politics as usual in a propaganda-driven world, we could swallow it – at least as well as we’ve swallowed the earlier untrue and manipulative stories about Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. But there are enough stories from then-reputable sources indicating that the bin Laden kill story’s Big Lie goes much deeper: frighteningly deeper. These more disturbing stories indicate that Usama bin Laden was not even connected to the events of 9-11, let alone their “mastermind” — and that he died in 2001.

Usama bin Laden was a red herring
On November 13, 2002, just fourteen months after 9-11, a blogger contributed this to Buzzflash (www.buzzflash.com[2]):

For your amusement and future reference, here’s what Bush has said about bin Laden at various points in time, depending on how he was trying to spin things:

“The most important thing is for us to find Usama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.”
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01

“I want justice…There’s an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive,’”
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI

“…Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he’s maybe in control of a cave. He’s on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we’re going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that’s what’s happening. He’s on the run, if he’s running at all. So we don’t know whether he’s in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open — we just don’t know….” – GW Bush, remarks in an open meeting with the Press Travel Pool at Bush’s “ranch” in Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on the official White House site.

“I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority. I am truly not that concerned about him.”
- G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden’s whereabouts, 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02) (5)

This last quote – made just two and a half months after Bush swore to find bin Laden and bring him to justice – showed that even GW Bush didn’t consider Usama bin Laden an essential part of the story for which our soldiers – and hundreds of thousands of citizens in Arab countries – have shed so much blood and suffered so many life-altering injuries.

Usama bin Laden cannot be connected to 9-11
What did Usama himself say about 9-11? In a Sept. 28, 2001 interview with the Pakistani newspaper Ummat, bin Laden is reported to have said:
“I have already said that I am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the United States. As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children and other people. Such a practice is forbidden even in the course of a battle.” (6)

FBI admits they have no evidence connecting bin Laden to 9-11
According to the FBI Top Ten Most Wanted page: “Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world.” (7)

When asked why there is no mention of 9/11 on the FBI’s web page, Rex Tomb, the FBI’s chief of investigative publicity, is reported to have said,

”The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden’s Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11.” (8)

In fact, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Vice President Dick Cheney both admit there is no evidence linking bin Laden to 9-11. On March 29, 2006, on The Tony Snow Show, Vice President Dick Cheney stated: “We’ve never made the case, or argued the case, that somehow Osama Bin Laden was directly involved in 9/11. That evidence has never been forthcoming.” (9)

At the end of their Top Ten list, the FBI notes that bin Laden “is left-handed and walks with a cane.”

This last comment is important because there are many reports of the CIA creating fake bin Laden videos – at least one with a right-handed actor looking to be 80-100 lbs. fatter, and with a much fatter nose, than Usama bin Laden — which have been embarrassingly easy to spot as fake.

Former CIA Officials Admit To Faking Bin Laden Video
Steve Watson, PrisonPlanet, Tuesday, May 25th, 2010:
“Two former CIA officials have admitted to creating a fake video in which intelligence officers dressed up as Usama Bin Laden and his cronies in an effort to defame the terrorist leader throughout the Middle East.

“The details are outlined in a Washington Post article by investigative reporter and former Army Intelligence case officer Jeff Stein.” (10), (11)
Could the CIA group of “dark skinned actors” have been behind the infamous December 2001 “Fat nosed” Bin Laden video, that was magically found in a house in Jalalabad after anti-Taliban forces moved in?

The tape featured a fat Usama laughing and joking about how he’d carried out 9/11. The video was also mistranslated in order to manipulate viewer opinion and featured “Bin Laden” praising two of the hijackers, only he got their names wrong. This Usama wrote with his right hand (the real Usama was, as the FBI site noted, left-handed). The actor playing Fat Usama in the December 2001 staged video, also wore gold rings: a practice totally in opposition to the Muslim faith.

Despite the fact that the man in the video looks nothing like Bin Laden and is right-handed, the CIA stood by it and declared it to be the official “9/11 confession video”. (12, 13)

Usama Bin Laden died in late 2001
– A Google search for “bin Laden died in 2001” brought up 31 pages of stories. Here are a few representative stories from mainstream sources, including one that may – if true — be a “smoking gun” from a top government insider:

1. “Usama bin Laden has died a peaceful death due to an untreated lung complication, the Pakistan Observer reported, citing a Taliban leader who allegedly attended the funeral of the Al Qaeda leader.

“The Coalition troops are engaged in a mad search operation but they would never be able to fulfill their cherished goal of getting Usama alive or dead,” the source said.

Bin Laden, according to the source, was suffering from a serious lung complication and succumbed to the disease in mid-December 2001, in the vicinity of the Tora Bora mountains. The source claimed that bin Laden was laid to rest honorably in his last abode and his grave was made as per his Wahabi belief.

About 30 close associates of bin Laden in Al Qaeda, including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members and some “Taliban friends,” attended the funeral rites. A volley of bullets was also fired to pay final tribute to the “great leader.” December 26, 2001. (14)

2. Translation of Funeral Article in Egyptian Paper: al-Wafd, Wednesday, December 26, 2001 Vol. 15 No. 4633 Islamabad — A prominent official in the Afghan Taliban movement announced yesterday the death of Usama bin Laden, the chief of al-Qa’da organization, stating that bin Laden suffered serious complications in the lungs and died a natural and quiet death. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, stated to The Observer of Pakistan that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial in Tora Bora 10 days ago. He mentioned that 30 of al-Qa’da fighters attended the burial as well as members of his family and some friends from the Taliban. In the farewell ceremony to his final rest guns were fired in the air.

The official stated that it is difficult to pinpoint the burial location of bin Laden because according to the Wahhabi tradition no mark is left by the grave. He stressed that it is unlikely that the American forces would ever uncover any traces of bin Laden. (15)

3. “Usama bin Laden is dead. The news first came from sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan almost six months ago: the fugitive died in December [2001] and was buried in the mountains of southeast Afghanistan. Pakistan’s former president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, echoed the information. The remnants of Usama’s gang, however, have mostly stayed silent, either to keep Usama’s ghost alive or because they have no means of communication.

“With an ego the size of Mount Everest, Usama bin Laden would not have, could not have, remained silent for so long if he were still alive. He always liked to take credit even for things he had nothing to do with. Would he remain silent for nine months and not trumpet his own survival?” (16)

4. “The Bin Laden Scam is One of the Most Shameful Acts Ever Perpetrated…”
By Gordon Duff, Veterans Today, December 5, 2009

“Conservative commentator, former Marine Colonel Bob Pappas has been saying for years that bin Laden died at Tora Bora and that Senator Kerry’s claim that bin Laden escaped with Bush help was a lie. Now we know that Pappas was correct. The embarrassment of having Secretary of State Clinton talk about bin Laden in Pakistan was horrific. He has been dead since December 13, 2001 and now, finally, everyone, Obama, McChrystal, Cheney, everyone who isn’t nuts is finally saying what they have known for years.

“We know this: Bin Laden always denied any ties to 9/11 and, in fact, has never been charged in relation to 9/11. He not only denied involvement, but had done so, while alive, 4 times and had vigorously condemned those who were involved in the attack.

“This is on the public record, public in every free country except ours. We, instead, showed films made by paid actors, made up to look somewhat similar to bin Laden, actors who contradicted bin Laden’s very public statements, actors pretending to be bin Laden long after bin Laden’s death.” (17)

5. Top Government Insider: Bin Laden Died in 2001, 9/11 A False Flag
The most recent (4 May 2011) story is – if true – the most explosive, from a man who was appointed to sensitive and influential positions in the Secretary of State and Defense departments by five presidents going back to Richard Nixon. (18, 19) As of May 7, 2011, this story seems to be going viral – a Google search showed over forty pages of hits). The story deserves an extended citation (link to full story at the end):

“Top US government insider Dr. Steve R. Pieczenik, a man who held numerous different influential positions under three different Presidents and still works with the Defense Department, shockingly told The Alex Jones Show yesterday that Usama Bin Laden died in 2001 and that he was prepared to testify in front of a grand jury how a top general told him directly that 9/11 was a false flag inside job.

“Pieczenik cannot be dismissed as a “conspiracy theorist”. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under three different administrations, Nixon, Ford and Carter, while also working under Reagan and Bush senior, and still works as a consultant for the Department of Defense. A former US Navy Captain, Pieczenik achieved two prestigious Harry C. Solomon Awards at the Harvard Medical School as he simultaneously completed a PhD at MIT.

“Recruited by Lawrence Eagleburger as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Management, Pieczenik went on to develop, “the basic tenets for psychological warfare, counter terrorism, strategy and tactics for transcultural negotiations for the US State Department, military and intelligence communities and other agencies of the US Government,” while also developing foundational strategies for hostage rescue that were later employed around the world.

“Pieczenik also served as a senior policy planner under Secretaries Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, George Schultz and James Baker and worked on George W. Bush’s election campaign against Al Gore. His record underscores the fact that he is one of the most deeply connected men in intelligence circles over the past three decades plus.

“The character of Jack Ryan, who appears in many Tom Clancy novels and was also played by Harrison Ford in the popular 1992 movie Patriot Games, is also based on Steve Pieczenik.

“Back in April 2002, over nine years ago, Pieczenik told the Alex Jones Show that Bin Laden had already been “dead for months,” and that the government was waiting for the most politically expedient time to roll out his corpse. Pieczenik would be in a position to know, having personally met Bin Laden and worked with him during the proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan back in the early 80′s.

“Pieczenik said that Usama Bin Laden died in 2001, “Not because special forces had killed him, but because as a physician I had known that the CIA physicians had treated him and it was on the intelligence roster that he had marfan syndrome,” adding that the US government knew Bin Laden was dead before they invaded Afghanistan.”

Marfan syndrome is a degenerative genetic disease for which there is no permanent cure. The illness severely shortens the life span of the sufferer.

“He died of marfan syndrome, Bush junior knew about it, the intelligence community knew about it,” said Pieczenik, noting how CIA physicians had visited Bin Laden in July 2001 at the American Hospital in Dubai.

“He was already very sick from marfan syndrome and he was already dying, so nobody had to kill him,” added Pieczenik, stating that Bin Laden died shortly after 9/11 in his Tora Bora cave complex. [NOTE: Dr. Pieczenik is implying an earlier death than most, who give December 13th as the date of Usama’s death. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001.)

“Pieczenik explained that he was not a liberal, a conservative or a tea party member, merely an American who is deeply concerned about the direction in which his country is heading.”

(The website Above Top Secret is now (May 7, 2011) running the story of a nearly complete media blackout relating to Dr. Pieczenik’s story.) (20)

Most of this information is known to Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and the administrations of both the GW Bush and Obama. If the subject were less emotional and complex, hoardes of reporters would already have torn the official version to shreds. But the way Obama’s administration packaged and released the stories was meant to – and did – plunge all of us into the fiery picture of bloody heroics in the made-for-movie saga of a continuing fight for Good against Evil. The high temperature of the story directs us toward uncritical acceptance, along with admiration and gratitude for the courage of both our Navy SEALS and – not incidentally – our president.

With our leaders operating within the supercharged atmosphere inside the Beltway, they live in a capsule of secrecy conducive to creating True Believers. The danger of such closed circles was perhaps put best by Albert Speer, who was the only Nazi to confess, then to write clearly and forcefully just how the process worked. This is not meant to compare our government with the Nazis – just to say the presence of so much secrecy easily traps the key players inside a hall of mirrors:

In normal circumstances, people who turn their backs on reality are soon set straight by the mockery and criticism of those around them, which makes them aware they have lost credibility. In the Third Reich there were no such correctives, especially for those who belonged to the upper stratum. On the contrary, every self-deception was multiplied as in a hall of distorting mirrors, becoming a repeatedly confirmed picture of a fantastical dream world, which no longer bore any relationship to the grim outside world. In those mirrors I could see nothing but my own face reproduced many times over.

(21) Our whole country is now engulfed by an incendiary story that reeks of dangerous propaganda. It’s time we stopped shouting “Fire!” and began shouting “Theater!”

HOWEVER… I did find one major news network that did post this story. The brave and daring washingtonpost.com posted the ground breaking story but posted it under the “lifestyle” section which is right next to the home garden and travel sections… LOL.. I can NOT make this stuff up”. ( http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread699847/pg1[17])